A first listen to the music of Gloria Coates is a breath of fresh air. Here is a genuinely contemporary sound, one that emerges naturally from our time and culture. Here are sounds to express our sense of time, space, movement and activity. There is no sense of is referentiallism. What a relief! There is no rehashing of someone else's style , whether from 10 or 500 years ago. There is no wilful difficulty to this music or the collaging of disparate influences.

Dutch musicians are different. They are absolutely objective, but deeply passionate; completely faithful to the letter of the score, but totally in touch with the spirit behind the score; wholly dedicated to their ensemble, but profoundly individualistic in their expression. In these ways, the Storioni Trio is the epitome of Dutch music-making. On this disc, the Storioni Trio fully inhabits not only the late eighteenth century world of Beethoven's early E flat major Trio Op. 1/2, but also the early nineteenth century world of Beethoven's later D major Trio, Op. 70/1, nicknamed the "Ghost."

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters in Quebec's history while celebrating the courage and collective humanity that emanated from it, Ice Storm Symphony (Symphonie de la tempete de verglas) takes the listener into a whirlwind of music by Quebecois composer Maxime Goulet. The program features Orchestre classique de Montreal under the direction of Jacques Lacombe performing three of Goulet's compositions: Fishing Story, What a Day, and the title work.

The composition is a tour de force, written by Handel at the age of 22 to showcase his skill in choral music – which this recording certainly does. Outstanding historically informed performance led by Simon Preston. Of particular note: an inspired rendering of the soprano duet "De Torrente" by Diana Montague and the legendary Arleen Augér.

The German label CPO, consistently dedicated to underappreciated music, has brought along many recordings of unfamiliar works ranging in status from central to the literature to wholly unworthy of revival. One of the most distinguished, and consequential, projects that CPO has undertaken is its recording of the complete Symphonies Concertantes of Johann Christian Bach as performed by the Hanover Band under Anthony Halstead.

In his program notes for this CD, Philippe Jaroussky persuasively argues that, particularly because the traditional repertoire for counter tenors is so small (and much of the Baroque material was in fact written for castrati, an entirely different voice type), there is no reason counter tenors should not explore a broader variety of vocal material. His performance of French mélodies from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries makes an even more compelling case for his argument.